The National Association of Rocketry (NAR) is the governing body for the sport/hobby of model rocketry in the United States. It was established in 1957 by Orville Carlisle and G. Harry Stine and is currently headed by Trip Barber. It is the oldest and largest model rocketry governing body in the world. Over 80,000 people have been members of the NAR. There are about 5100 current members as of 2011.
The organization hosts a variety of educational programs and model rocketry contests. There are three national NAR events each year:
Together with the Aerospace Industries Association, the NAR also sponsors the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) competition for students in the 7th through 12th grades.
There are also hundreds of launches every year hosted by local NAR sections spanning the United States. These launches are conducted in accordance with NAR safety codes and FAA regulations.
The NAR provides its members with low-cost insurance for the sport of model rocketry, maintains a high power rocketry certification program, and publishes a bi-monthly magazine, called Sport Rocketry. It also tests and certifies rocket motors for safety and reliability.
The NAR (along with the Tripoli Rocketry Association, the other major governing body in hobby rocketry) was involved in a nine-year lawsuit against the BATFE regarding the status of Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP), the most common propellant used in hobby rocketry, as an explosive. The NAR and TRA won the lawsuit in 2009, deregulating APCP.